Threatening Letters

A ''NO. 1 FAN'' who allegedly sent threatening letters to actor Michael J. Fox is being held without bail after a Los Angeles judge ruled that Tina M. Ledbetter, 26, poses a risk to Fox and his pregnant wife, actress Tracy Pollan. Ledbetter was arrested Feb. 3 and has pleaded not guilty. Many of the more than 5,000 letters to Fox, signed ''Your No. 1 Fan,'' threatened that he and his wife would die if he didn't divorce her. Fox, a star of NBC's Family Ties, hired a security guard.

MASSACHUSETTS--The FBI says it's launched a "complete review of all evidence" in the unsolved 1982 Tylenol poisonings that killed seven people in the Chicago area. The statement comes the same day federal agents searched the Boston-area home of a man convicted of extortion in the aftermath of the poisonings. No one was ever charged with the deaths of seven people who took the cyanide-laced drugs. The FBI's statement says its review also has not resulted in the filing of any criminal charges.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. A man apparently upset about losing more than $60,000 in a bank failure has been arrested on charges of mailing threatening letters containing suspicious powder to banks and federal offices, authorities said Tuesday. Richard Leon Goyette, 47, was arrested at the Albuquerque airport Monday. Goyette is accused of mailing 65 threatening letters in October to financial institutions and federal regulatory offices.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. A man apparently upset about losing more than $60,000 in a bank failure has been arrested on charges of mailing threatening letters containing suspicious powder to banks and federal offices, authorities said Tuesday. Richard Leon Goyette, 47, was arrested at the Albuquerque airport Monday. Goyette is accused of mailing 65 threatening letters in October to financial institutions and federal regulatory offices.

WILLINGTON, Conn. - A teacher who faked the writing of threatening letters to her students in order to incriminate a student who had stalked her wants her old job back. The school district of Willington will hear arguments July 14 on reinstatement of Kathy Gerardi, 46. Gerardi admitted to fabricating threatening letters to her students to dupe state police into rearresting a former student who had been convicted of stalking her.

A WOMAN accused of sending threatening letters to actor Michael J. Fox pleaded guilty to three felony counts and was placed on probation for three years. In exchange for the three guilty pleas by Tina Marie Ledbetter, 28, prosecutors dropped two counts Friday. She could have been sentenced to four years in prison. Ledbetter allegedly sent nearly 6,000 threatening letters to the Family Ties star over the course of a year, with 800 of them arriving in July 1988, the month he married actress Tracy Pollan.

CHICAGO -- Two dud pipe bombs mailed to companies in Chicago and Kansas City included threatening letters with phrases such as "Bang you're dead" and "Tic-toc," postal inspectors said Friday. The Postal Inspection Service said investigators think the suspect, who has identified himself as "The Bishop" in letters sent to financial institutions during the past 18 months, has ties to the Chicago area. About half of the 15 threatening letters known to have been sent to Chicago-area postmarks, and the two pipe bombs, were mailed from the post office in suburban Rolling Meadows, said David Colen of the inspection service's Chicago office.

DEWELL BREWER, a star high school running back from Lawton, Okla., said he has received threatening letters since announcing he is considering playing next season at the University of Nebraska. Brewer: ''I've gotten my house egged. And there have been some threatening letters. People have said things like, 'It could be real rough if you ever want to come back here and live.' '' Brewer's high school coach, Derald Alschlager, has called him the best back to come out of Oklahoma in the past 25 years.

A Longwood man was found guilty Thursday of sending threatening letters, including one that had the victim's name pasted on a newspaper obituary page, to a south Seminole County woman.John Darmanjian, 43, of 901-14 E. Wildmere Ave., faces up to 15 years in prison, but Assistant State Attorney William Catto said the man probably will not receive the maximum under the state's sentencing guidelines. Sentencing is set for June 12.The jury deliberated about an hour before returning the verdict in the one- day trial.

Relatives of the ex-lover of Sol Wachtler, the state's former chief judge, made public in court papers the obscene and threatening letters he allegedly sent to the woman, Newsday reported Thursday. Wachtler, a Republican who was mentioned as a potential gubernatorial candidate, was arrested Nov. 7 on charges he tried to extort money from Silverman and threatened her and her daughter after she broke off an affair with him. He has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.

CHICAGO -- Two dud pipe bombs mailed to companies in Chicago and Kansas City included threatening letters with phrases such as "Bang you're dead" and "Tic-toc," postal inspectors said Friday. The Postal Inspection Service said investigators think the suspect, who has identified himself as "The Bishop" in letters sent to financial institutions during the past 18 months, has ties to the Chicago area. About half of the 15 threatening letters known to have been sent to Chicago-area postmarks, and the two pipe bombs, were mailed from the post office in suburban Rolling Meadows, said David Colen of the inspection service's Chicago office.

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands -- A letter left on the body of a Dutch filmmaker slain in Amsterdam contained death threats against a Dutch politician and was signed by an unknown group, the justice minister said Thursday. Dutch authorities have arrested nine suspects, all thought to be radical Islamists, in connection with Tuesday's shooting and stabbing of Theo van Gogh.

LOS ANGELES -- The spitting cobra seemed anxious to end its travels through the U.S. postal system. Stuffed in a foam-filled box, the 2-foot-long South African snake, one of the deadliest in the world, stuck out its head, ready to greet the unsuspecting man who received the venomous package last week at his home, authorities said. An investigation continued Tuesday as Los Angeles police tried to determine where the blackneck spitting cobra was mailed from and why it was sent to Joseff Calhoun, the 30-year-old Los Angeles songwriter who trapped the slithering interloper by quickly closing the lid. Calhoun escaped without injury and notified authorities.

LONG HILL TOWNSHIP, N.J. -- Authorities in New Jersey, where at least five anthrax-laden letters were mailed in 2001, closed another post office after brown powder fell from a package holding a threatening letter. An initial test was negative for anthrax, but a secondary test was inconclusive, Postal Service spokesman Tony Esposito said Sunday. One employee came in contact with the powder but didn't appear to have symptoms, and five workers received prescriptions for the antibiotic Cipro, Esposito said.

WILLINGTON, Conn. - A teacher who faked the writing of threatening letters to her students in order to incriminate a student who had stalked her wants her old job back. The school district of Willington will hear arguments July 14 on reinstatement of Kathy Gerardi, 46. Gerardi admitted to fabricating threatening letters to her students to dupe state police into rearresting a former student who had been convicted of stalking her.

A man who allegedly stalked Kathie Lee Gifford is continuing to send her threatening letters from his jail cell, where he is awaiting trial on unrelated charges. In one letter, Richard Jones asks the devil for guidance on how to make Gifford his wife and the mother of his child, police in Gastonia, N.C., said. A publicist said Gifford, the co-host of Live with Regis and Kathie Lee, was on vacation and unavailable for comment.

Harry Veltman III of Los Angeles has been indicted on charges he sent obscene and threatening letters to champion figure skater Katarina Witt.Veltman, 47, was charged Friday, and his arraignment was set for Tuesday. He faces up to 35 years in prison if convicted. He has been jailed without bail since his arrest Dec. 26.Veltman sent five letters to Witt between November 1990 and July 1991. He has said the letters were intended only to persuade the two-time Olympic gold medalist to marry him.The letters were obscene, and some contained graphic sexual descriptions.

A man who allegedly stalked Kathie Lee Gifford is continuing to send her threatening letters from his jail cell, where he is awaiting trial on unrelated charges. In one letter, Richard Jones asks the devil for guidance on how to make Gifford his wife and the mother of his child, police in Gastonia, N.C., said. A publicist said Gifford, the co-host of Live with Regis and Kathie Lee, was on vacation and unavailable for comment.

Capitol Hill's Democratic leaders blocked $90 billion in federal budget cuts Monday using the tactics of firefighters who stop raging fires by starting smaller ones.Rushing to end their 1993 legislative season by today, Democratic chiefs won House passage Monday night of their own package claiming to trim $37 billion in spending.But in a 219-213 vote, the House barely defeated more ambitious cuts, mostly in Medicare savings, proposed by Reps. Tim Penny, D-Minn., and John Kasich, R-Ohio. Even the so-called Penny-Kasich plan would have cut only a penny for every dollar Washington spends over the next five years.

Relatives of the ex-lover of Sol Wachtler, the state's former chief judge, made public in court papers the obscene and threatening letters he allegedly sent to the woman, Newsday reported Thursday. Wachtler, a Republican who was mentioned as a potential gubernatorial candidate, was arrested Nov. 7 on charges he tried to extort money from Silverman and threatened her and her daughter after she broke off an affair with him. He has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.